Chapter 1019: Patience

"How was it? Did you take a good look?" Just as Fors left the street

where Viscount Stratford's mansion was, she saw Xio walk out with a down

and vacant expression.

Xio nodded hesitantly.

"I did..."

Having said that, she seemed to come to her senses and said in shock, "I

know her---no, him!"

"Him?" Fors was confused.

Xio habitually observed her surroundings before saying, "He's Sherman!

The Sherman I told you about!

"H-he actually became a woman!"

Fors was stunned as she subconsciously asked, "Were you mistaken?

"Could she be Sherman's sister?"

Xio firmly shook her head.

"No, she admitted it herself and even told me not to disturb her. She

wants to bid farewell to her past!

"But... how did he become a woman..."

Fors's eyes darted around as she suddenly recalled something. She said

in thought, "It's not impossible either... There's a Beyonder pathway

that allows a man to become a woman at a certain stage."

She recalled Miss Justice mentioning something similar during a free

exchange session.

"Ah? Really?" Xio's widened as she asked in disbelief.

"Yes!" Fors had already recalled the exact conditions as she gave a

rather confident answer.

"This..." Xio was momentarily unable to accept it, but she couldn't find

a rebuttal. All she could do was ask, "Which pathway is it?"

Fors replied, "Demoness!

"Uh, it's the Assassin pathway."

"Demoness... Sherman actually became a Demoness..." Xio repeated to

herself.

Suddenly, her voice became louder.

"Could it be that she's being taken advantage of?

"No, I must warn her!"

Just as she said that, Xio turned around and ran with great strides in

an attempt to catch up with the rental carriage again.

However, she couldn't find the target after attempting to pursue it for

a few blocks. Sherman and the carriage seemed to have disappeared into

thin air.

Xio gradually slowed down and finally stopped. She looked at the

bustling streets ahead of her with a complicated expression.

Behind her, Fors passed through a few walls and finally caught up to

her.

"Gone..." Xio whispered.

Fors also cast her gaze forward and thoughtfully replied, "We were

discovered..."

Without waiting for Xio to speak, she turned around and sighed.

"Let's return and find another opportunity."

Xio didn't take a step forward as she continued standing there.

After a few seconds, she said under Fors's puzzled gaze, "Since they

discovered a problem, will they speed up their plans ahead of time?"

"It's possible! If they don't wish for their plans to be foiled, they

might attempt one final strike tonight before we're prepared!" Fors

immediately agreed with Xio. "Let's return to Viscount Stratford's place

and hide in a more concealed spot. We'll continue monitoring it!"

Xio immediately nodded and replied without any hesitation, "Okay."

In the dock area, inside a warehouse with plenty of goods.

Shermane was sitting on a dirty wooden crate. Her hands were crossed

behind her back as her body had thin but firm spider webs coiled around

her.

She appeared as though she was encased in a transparent cocoon, unable

to make a single sound.

"It's not a bad thing for you." Trissy stood in front of Shermane with a

pitch-black flame that resembled ink burning in her palm. "At the very

least, you can determine if he really loves you or is lying to you."

Shermane was angry and afraid. She desperately used her whimpers to

express her wish, but Trissy was unmoved. She turned her flame-wielding

palm around and pressed it into Shermane's stomach.

The flames seemed to have intelligence as they scattered like flowing

water. Following that, they penetrated her skin and flesh in an attempt

to drill inside.

Trissy's smooth, black hair flared up in defiance of the laws of nature.

They were being pulled by invisible hands as they extended out in every

direction. It stained the surrounding air with a peculiar smell.

The strands of hair thickened as they scattered into distinct strands.

Beneath them, dark beams of light surged, bringing about curses and

words. They flowed rapidly, fusing into the pitch-black flames. Upon

entering Shermane's stomach, they quickly vanished.

Shermane's face twitched uncontrollably, but she didn't feel any pain.

It was as though it was purely on reflex.

She soon calmed down as she saw Trissy's figure turn faint and gradually

turn transparent until it vanished.

Shermane's pupils widened as she struggled again, but she was unable to

break free from her restraints.

She tried again and again like a flood was rising, centimeter by

centimeter, inside the silent warehouse.

After an unknown period of time, the door to the warehouse opened with a

thud and slammed into the two sides of the wall.

A figure staggered in---it was the middle-aged Viscount Stratford.

He didn't wear his white wig like he always did while outside. This

revealed his rather high receding hairline and rather messy black hair.

The latter was stuck together as though it had been drenched by a storm

and was air-dried. But in the past few hours, the clouds were thin and

the crimson moon high in the sky. It hadn't rained at all.

Drops of sweat dripped down Viscount Stratford's rather cut facial

contours as there were countless black threads flowing beneath his skin.

His body was slightly hunched, and his facial muscles were somewhat

twisted. His eyes were filled with pain and concern.

He surveyed the area and was delighted when he found Shermane. However,

he turned anxious as he charged over without much confidence.

When Shermane saw him enter the warehouse, her face lit up as though it

was covered in a halo.

She then revealed a worried and fearful expression as she attempted to

shake her head frantically. However, her neck was held firmly by the

spider webs that prevented her movement.

She reeled in anxiety, to the point of tears flowing out of her eyes,

drop after drop---crystalline and frail.

Just as Viscount Stratford was about to reach her, a loud bang suddenly

rang out between the two.

It was as though there was an invisible wall that separated him from

Shermane, one that was couldn't be surpassed.

"If you wish to break the curse and take her away, you have to answer my

question without hiding anything." At this moment, a figure quickly

appeared in a corner of the warehouse.

Her facial features were charming, forming together into an abnormally

sweet look. She resembled the lover that every young lad would fantasize

about in his youth. She was none other than Demoness Trissy.

Without waiting for Viscount Stratford's response, she raised her right

hand and conjured a pitch-black flame.

Viscount Stratford's face, hands, neck, and exposed skin instantly

turned transparent as they protruded with blood vessels.

And in every blood vessel, there was a black flame silently burning as

it flowed silently.

The pain in Viscount Stratford's eyes immediately reached a peak, but it

vanished the next moment.

His expression turned extremely cold as a jibing look appeared in his

eyes. It was as though the one being cursed wasn't him, but Trissy who

was a distance away.

Trissy, who was in the corner of the warehouse, suddenly burst into

black flames. Dense, countless spider webs appeared, but they couldn't

be lit up.

In the blink of an eye, Trissy was like Shermane, being sealed inside a

transparent cocoon. She couldn't move or escape.

In a ventilation vent high above the warehouse, a figure appeared. It

was a woman whose age wasn't obvious. She wore a simple and sacred white

robe. She had black hair, blue eyes, looking sweet and beautiful, giving

off an indescribable charm.

"Katarina Pellè..." Trissy seemed to expend all her strength before she

shouted a name.

At this moment, Viscount Stratford grabbed at his body, pulling out an

illusory doll covered in thick black flames.

He glanced at Shermane and smiled at Trissy.

"When it comes to matters related to life, I would never be careless.

After that fellow, Sikes, died, I knew that it would be my turn one day.

"Heh heh, since you're hunting me, it means there are obviously others

who wish to hunt you. We're very patient, afraid of scaring you away. We

did nothing and waited until today.

"Also, your gift was pretty good."

Upon hearing Viscount Stratford's words, Shermane, who was still

struggling out of habit, instantly stopped moving. Her expression turned

blank.

Her eyes widened, but there wasn't any focus. The look in her eyes

seemed to sink deeper and deeper.

"Love..." Trissy suddenly laughed, seemingly mocking herself.

She wasn't nervous at all.

Maygur Manor. Night had fallen.

After settling more than twenty guests and preparing the hunting trip

the next day, Klein woke up not long after he fell asleep.

His intuition had been triggered as a scene formed in his mind.

Brigadier General Qonas Kilgor, who was wearing a shirt and pants, had

flown out of the guest room's window in secret. He landed outside in

complete defiance of the laws of nature.

*This... I haven't even taken action... He came here for his own

goals...* With a thought, Klein controlled a cockroach outside

and turned it into his marionette. He then used its "eyes" to observe

the surroundings.

Almost at the same time, Qonas Kilgor appeared.

After this demigod left Maygur Manor, he immediately distorted the

"distance" and quickly arrived by the bank of the Tussock River. He

prepared himself to cross it.

The cockroach watched quietly without any reaction.

*He's heading for the south bank of the Tussock River... What does he

want to do... Does he have the preference of hunting in the suburbs so

that he can attempt to conceal such actions? He also introduced Maygur

Manor to me for this reason?* Klein lay in bed and seriously

analyzed Qonas's actions.

After the MI9 demigod stepped onto the south bank of the Tussock River,

Klein suddenly recalled a matter:

Back when he escaped the underground ruins where Ince Zangwill and

company were, he appeared somewhere in the northwest of Backlund. This

was the south bank of the Tussock River, making it rather close to where

Maygur Manor was.